wow

we entertained the fam this week. it was nice to have them, but sometimes i forget how funny they are. we went to my brother's almost every day. so that was nice. they really like that baby. one day, my ma and i babysat for four hours while they went to the dmv. that baby erupts every other time she looks at me. so it was a long four hours for me. my parents were smitten. especially my dad. he really likes babies, and man, did that little girl cling to him. it was so cute.

three of the days they were here, i had to work. so that left dust to be the entertainer. man, is he a good one. who else could entertain the in laws (please read as my family more than "in laws") for a full day on their own? but he never complained. he even said he had a good time. so that was nice. you know how worried/upset i got when i had to work. but in two weeks i give my notice. just enough time to pay the rent and buy my dream pocketbook. i can't wait. so the whole thing is not a total loss, you know?

here is the run down of the family visit.
sunday night:
dust and i make mac and chee, salad and asparagus. we sit around and do wii fitness. turns out my dad is 57 and my mom is 45. not bad considering i was 47 (note the two years older than my mom. my life is just sad!) and dust was 22.
monday:
i work until 2. the three of them go to bette's (betty's for those of you that have been here) for lunch. then pick me up and go to my brother's work for a winery tour and tasting. it was nice. we had dinner at our favorite mexican restaraunt in calistoga and home we all came.

tuesday was a day of work:
not any kind of work we get paid for. my family woke up and went to napa. we were there at 11. my brother took off work early, and we got his car jumped and to the mechanic, we got him car insurance, and we got his house spotless. we have a saying in our house "mom clean". it is pretty much the cleanest you can get an area. so clean that the walls are scrubbed with cleaner as well as any other surface. there is no dust, no dirt, no little piles. it is a bit sickening, but it makes my ma so happy when it is done. she and karen able are the only two women i know who have perfected this technique. it is amazing to see the mom clean in action. we had lunch at four and came back to berkeley by six. my dad held a baby all day. so i think the day was successful. when we got back to berkeley, we got to go to the farmer's market to see dust work at his stand. that was nice. then i got word that dan and rose were coming that night. fancy. dust went to dinner with them at our mexican restaraunt that serves the mojitos, and i took my parents to zachary's, a chicago style pizza place. mmmmmm.



wednesday:
i worked selling shoes. a lot of shoes. one man not only wanted women's shoes because they were pretty, he wanted them two sizes too small so his foot didn't look "huge an bloaty". it was awesome. he picked these really nice pink and purple shoes that no one else buys because they are not good for any one's feet, but maybe two sizes too small, it doesn't make a difference. who knows. one man refused to let me even see his feet because he had not had a pedicure. i love this town. that night we went into the city to meet up with marcia with dan and rose. it was a night of laughing and stiff drinks and mexican food. not so bad. we got to hear about rose in africa. we heard about dan's senior thesis. we showed them leslie hall, and rose was in awe of those gold spandex pants. turns out even she would not wear them. it was nice to see them. they are really funny kids. we are trying to plan a trip for us and marcia to go see them in portland. that would be a ton of fun. watch out nine hour drive. we got two redheads in the car and we are a little crazy. no family visit for me on wednesday.
now as far as family business goes. this day was the day my uncle bill came into town from la. he is my dad's best friend. they have the same goofy sense of humor and they have known eachother since their acting days at cbs. so they go back a ways. so it was nice they got to spend a little time together. they all went up to napa and my brother made dinner for them all while they oooohed and aaaaahed over that emma drew. so i know they were in complete heaven.

thursday.
up to napa we go. dan and rose go back to portland. my brother needed to go to the dmv to register his car. nice. wait until the parents come and then have them and their out of town friend spend their vacation at the dmv. i only joke about this, but it did happen. we did, however, get burgers and shakes at taylors refresher. so the day was not a complete loss. and my uncle bill showed us the video of his most recent trip to russia. so that was good. it was nice to get to see him at least for a little while. he is my godfather after all. so that is nice.
we took unkle bill back to the airport thursday evening. and my parents and dust and i went for a delicious dinner at pf changs. we also enjoyed stiff drinks. nothing soothes a stressed out mother like a stiff cosmo. my dad had the hindricks gin and tonic. it was nice to see them cut loose and have a free moment. i think they forgot they were on vacation.

friday:
i get up to sell more shoes. most of the people i helped were in their fifties looking to run a marathon in october. so that was inspiring. and it made me think,"what am i doing with my time?" there is no training. no real running. nothing too cool. but i got off at 6:30 and the fam and dust picked me up. they had been to sausalito, a little hippie town on the other side of the golden gate bridge. that means they saw the ocean, too. that is my ma's favorite. so that makes me happy. they drove over the golden gate bridge into san fran. they went to the cliff's house right on the ocean. they admired expensive homes with real yards in the city (those ain't cheap!), they went to the museum and saw the real "thinker" statue. and they saw a seal. so the day was not a complete loss. when they picked me up i heard all of this was incredibly jealous. i want to see all of those things. that would have been way better than selling shoes. but again i can buy my dream pocketbook in just two weeks. so i can make it.
they picked me up at 6:30, and we came back to our house to make dinner. they had picked up the makings at trader joe's earlier in the day, too. man, they were busy. we called my brother, and played smooth moves for a while. i think my parents are in love with the wii. it was their idea to stay in and play it. and they were upset we had kept one of them. suckas.

today:
met at the coffee shop for breakfast at 8:15. early. they left and now this is happening. do you feel like you relived their trip in real time? that was my goal. it was nice to get to see my brother so much. and my parents are really proud of the parents that he and meredith are. so that, i think made their trip. more so than meeting emma. i know she will grow to like them because they will spoil her rotten. my dad will get her anything, i just know it. and my mom opened some sort of college fund for her while they were here. so that little one just won them over, i know. in fact, i sort of feel like i lost my status as top female (i was second place for cliffy--just after my mom). but with emma here, that status is now second or third (depending on the sex of the parent you are asking). they think i am jealous, but i think it is just great. that little one is pretty special. and now she has 4 grandparents who know her and love her. she is a lucky lady, that baby.

we got to laugh a lot. it was nice to see all the other visitors besides those in my biological family. dan, rose, uncle bill. what pleasant little treats. y'all may laugh, but i do love when visitors come. it makes this place seem less temporary. and it gives poor dust something to do. :) i kid. i kid. i'll put the pictures on this thing and y'all get back to whatever it is you were doing before you took on this novella.

no word on the chem final yet. i know it was mailed back to university of new england on the 17th. so it should be soon. keep your fingers crossed. hopefully, they have been crossed for the week. lord knows i have needed it/ will need it.
squeezes and indian burns to all.

there is your christmas card. aren't we cute?